When you look at where technology is headed, the waning relevance of money is only a matter of time, says Elon Musk. He put it to The Economist in no uncertain terms: with AI and robotics on the rise, money will not be what it once was.
Musk’s Vision: Technology Disrupting Money’s Role
Musk’s view is that as long as technology can create an abundance of everything, the old ways of thinking about currency will have to give way. In his words, if you have robots and artificial intelligence producing more than enough of what people need, the economy is going to be turned on its head.
Take something as basic as food or a place to live, or even how one gets around and is entertained. AI could make all of these things so readily available that they are no longer in short supply. And when that happens, you can’t have an economic model built on using money to barter for things that are hard to come by.
Why Money Could Lose Its Central Place
Musk has put it this way: at its core, money is just a means of exchange for what we need and want. But as technology gets more sophisticated and puts most goods within easy reach, if not free, the role of currency is bound to wane. He doesn’t see it vanishing altogether, but its place in the economy will be much less of a factor.
It is a view he put forward in a recent talk with The Economist, and one that resonates with the kind of questions being asked by economists and technologists these days. We are looking at a time when smart machines may do most of the work, and that has the potential to upend some of the old rules of economics and force a re-evaluation of how we go about sharing wealth.
Implications for the Future Economy
What Musk is putting on the table with his prediction is a larger conversation on where the economy is headed. The host of Pro Blockchain Media Live has pointed out that when you have an abundance of technology, it can put a whole new spin on how we do business, to the point where the old financial order might not matter as much.
Then there is the question of what happens if tech keeps producing more than we can use. In that case, we are left to figure out new ways to put goods and services in people’s hands. It is a scenario that would open up some doors for those in charge of making policy, for companies and for the rest of us, but it would be one with its share of complications as well.
Source — Pro Blockchain Media Live: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8Tet9se8kg
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